You can find the Cosmos 482 Descent Craft here. Why would you want to? Because it might crash back down to Earth and kill you, if you’re not paying attention.

The Cosmos 482 (or Kosmos 482, or Космос 482) was a Soviet probe launched in 1972, bound for Venus, which sadly suffered engine failure while in low Earth orbit, and thus never made it to its intended destination. Several parts soon fell back down to Earth, landing in a New Zealand farm. The Soviet authorities, being reluctant to admit their own existence, let alone that of a failed space mission, denied all knowledge of the craft, and so ownership fell to the farmer who found them.

What remained in orbit was the probe itself. Generally speaking, satellites and other debris will burn up upon re-entry, and thus pose no threat or concern to life or property on Earth. Probes designed to withstand the temperature and atmospheric pressure of Venus, however, are unlikely to burn up on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.

Image of Cosmos 482 orbit

The orbit of the descent probe has deteriorated considerably from the highly eliptical orbit it enjoyed in 1972. As you can see from the image above, it’s getting pretty close. Despite an unfounded fear that Kosmos 482 would crash as early as 2019, it’s currently expected to take a dirt nap between 2023 and 2025. It is expected to land somewhere between the latitudes of 52 degrees north, and 52 degrees south, so if that’s where you are on Earth, keep watching. This web app has got you covered.